Chapter 39

‘I wasn’t worried at all, but it was difficult if my mother kept getting angry and even collapsed,’ Florin thought.

“Yes. I think so.”

The Marchioness, weary of her anger, agreed with her daughter.

* * *

The Marchioness walked the path of the garden.

She was upset because of Astelle, and wanted to cool her head a bit in the fresh air.

The garden was quiet in the afternoon.

The clear sunlight warmly enveloped the garden.

The white lily of the valley bloomed in the flower bed, fading in the sunlight, and exuding a fresh scent.

The Marchioness, who was looking around the garden, noticed a child hiding among the yellow flowers in the distance, and she stopped.

The boy she had met at Astelle’s annex a while ago was playing in the flower bed.

‘Why did he come all the way here?’

The child ran through the yellow flowers that filled the flower bed.

‘It seems rude.’

The child, who had been wandering through the flower bed for a while, bent down on his knees and stroked a large bundle of golden fur.

The Marchioness couldn’t see it from afar, but it was probably a large dog with golden fur.

There was Astelle from a distance.

And next to her stood His Majesty the Emperor.

Even from a distance, it was a friendly atmosphere.

‘You are fooling His Majesty, that cunning…!’

The Marchioness watched what the two of them were doing for a moment.

Astelle, who came with the emperor, called the child in the flower bed.

When the child came out of the flowerbed, she gently stroked his head.

‘… did she say nephew?’

She’s not sure, but she heard that the child was Astelle’s maternal relative.

It is said that Astelle raised him on her own since he was a baby.

Maybe that’s why Astelle seemed to care for him like her own child.

A young child running on the grass and Astelle looking at the child lovingly.

As the Marchioness was looking at it, a clever idea came to her mind.

It was a clever enough idea for the short-minded Marchioness to think of.

“You there!”

The Marchioness called the maid.

She was a maid she had known for a long time.

With the tip of her fan, she pointed to Theor playing near the flower bed in the distance.

“Get that kid secretly.”

“Pardon?”

The maid raised her head in surprise.

“But he was invited by His Majesty…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll only use him for a while.”

The Marchioness decided to retaliate against Astelle by using the young child.

‘A cheeky thing!’

I will definitely pay you back.

I will watch you weep and cry.

The emperor with great power could not be touched, so she was trying to vent her wrath against Astelle.

* * *

Astelle washed Theor and took him to his bedroom, then returned to her grandfather’s bedroom.

“Why did you say strange things to His Majesty?”

Astelle asked slightly annoyed.

“He will misunderstand, Grandpa.”

The Marquis was sitting by the window and drinking tea.

“Just let him misunderstand. After all, he already thought I was an arrogant old man.”

Ignoring the rebukes of his little granddaughter, he drank the tea leisurely.

Then he saw Astelle’s angry face and made excuses again.

“Wouldn’t it be better to misunderstand like that? That way, it would be more natural for him to think I kicked the child’s mother out because of her status.”

It wasn’t entirely wrong.

If the Marquis gives the impression that he is a kind and open-minded person without being bound by his status, then he will be able to tell the story of Theor’s birth.

It’s going to be hard to explain, starting with letting the mother go as soon as the baby is born.

Astelle sighed and sat across from her grandfather.

“I’m sorry. Because of me, you received such a misunderstanding.”

Astelle had always felt sorry for her grandfather.

From the moment she found out she was pregnant for the first time, she continued to receive help from him, and now he is suffering so much because of Astelle.

She couldn’t help but be sorry.

Besides, her grandfather became an accomplice in this and was taking risks with Astelle.

“If it is to protect you and Theor, I don’t mind being misunderstood.”

Afternoon sunlight filled the garden seen through the window.

The petals that adorned the flower bed showed off their colorful colors in the sunlight.

The Marquis said quietly while looking out at the peaceful landscape.

“I had only two children, but all of them are dead. My grandson Sigmund is also dead, so now it is only you and Theor.”

Astelle, who was listening quietly, replied.

“How about my brother, Fritz?”

“He’s not even contacting me. What a brat…”

When the Marquis was framed and expelled, Duke of Reston quickly drew a line with him, saying that his wife had died and the relationship with him had been cut off as well.

As a result, the two became enemies, and Astelle and her brother could not see their maternal grandfather very often.

Still, Astelle would avoid her father’s eyes and write letters to her grandfather.

However, her older brother, Fritz, cut off contact with his grandfather at the behest of his father.

‘Come to think of it, we haven’t seen each other since I left.’

The two got along very well. Since they were the only siblings, they had no choice but to be close.

Fritz was a sincere and capable man.

When he was young, he devoted himself to studying day and night, and as he grew up, he worked tirelessly.

Six years ago, when she was divorced and left the capital, Fritz chased her to the mansion’s front door and stopped Astelle.

“Where are you going? Don’t do anything wrong and ask father for forgiveness.”

At that moment Astelle gave up her expectations of her only brother.

Love also ceased.

She didn’t need to have her affection for her reproaching brother without a word of consolation to his sister, who returned to her home after a day of marriage.

After that, they did not see each other for six years.

She heard that Fritz was also quit the Knights of Templar when his father fell, but she hasn’t been told how he’s been doing since.

She doesn’t even want to know how he’s doing.

‘We will never meet again anyway.’

Even if she went to the capital, she had no desire to visit her family.

She wanted to avoid accidental encounters if possible.

The Marquis looking out the window put down the teacup and asked.

“Then, why did the emperor suddenly come to visit? He didn’t seem to have such a polite personality.”

“That…”

Astelle passed on Kaizen’s words to her grandfather.

“Did he tell you to attend the ball?”

“It’s not a big deal.”

Anyway, the ball was a good opportunity.

‘If you want to get permission quickly, it is better to speak up when you are in a hurry.’

It’s good to make a quick decision without giving you time for long conversations by asking questions.

So this time, Astelle deliberately chose the ballroom to get the Emperor’s permission.

Astelle made that commitment.

“Are you all right…?”

Asked her grandfather with a worried look.

Astelle knew what her grandfather was worried about.

She was a former Empress who was deposed. Besides, her family lost its power.

Standing in front of people, she will hear uncomfortable gossip.

The Marquis was worried about it.

“Of course.”

As long as she could send her grandfather and Theor back home safely, it wouldn’t matter.

After watching his granddaughter carefully, the Marquis sighed.

“… they look alike.”

Astelle looked up at her grandfather’s complicated voice.

A bitter feeling permeated her grandfather’s blue eyes.

“After coming here and seeing the emperor, I can understand it. They certainly look alike. It’s surprising that other people don’t recognize it.”

“……”

That was it.

Astelle just wished that Theor did not resemble Kaizen.

It is said that children in the womb are born against the wishes of their parents.

Astelle smiled, hiding her bitter thoughts.

“Your father may recognize him.”

The Marquis’ voice as he said that was filled with anxiety.

“Your father is one of the most cunning and clever people I know. He also has good eyes. He could immediately recognize Theor when he saw him.”

Astelle had the same thought.

Her father, the Duke of Reston, had been watching Kaizen grow since he was a newborn.

‘What would happen if my father saw Theor?’

Theor resembles Kaizen’s childhood.

And next to Theor is Astelle.

Her quick-witted father may notice everything as soon as he sees him.

Things are even worse if her father notices.

It was far more sinister than being caught by Kaizen.